Oil-burning apparatus



Nov. 27, 19 28. y l. E. SMITH OIL BURNING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 17, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet R mm INVENTOR Ira E Sm ith mam Z//%IIIIIIIIII4FIIII ATTO R N EY Nov. 27,1928. 1,693,061

1 I I. E. SMITH OIL BURNING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 17, 1924 2 Shets-Sheet 2 BY Q mm ATTO R N EY Patented Nov. 27, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATE NT OFFICE.

IRA EDWARD SMITH, OF STOCKTON, CA LIFORNIA.

OIL-BURNING APPARATUS.

Application filed November 17, 1924 Serial No. 750,248.

- respects is essentially the same as shown in my Patent No. 1,512,247 dated October 21st, 1924, on an oil burner, and while retaining all the good features of the previous apparatus, has.

some important improvements which form the objects of the present invention.

These improvements in-the main are:

1. The burner structure adjacent the burner plate has not only been simplified, but this simplified construction positively prevents back-firing, such as was obtained with the previous burner, although I employed means in an attempt to prevent this'action.

2. The valve by which the supply of oil to the burner is regulated continuously rotates, and the valve seat is so located that a constant swirl of oil is continuously maintained around the same, thus preventing the valve opening from choking up and insuring a steady and equal flow of oil to the burner at; all times.

While taking care of any excess or overflow oil in the burner this is not passed to the automatic oil supply device as before, and

the need of filtering screens on the burner and,

v in the float controlledsupply reservoir is therefore unnecessary At the same time, I, have provided means for enabling any sed1-. ment which maybe with said excess or over flow oil to be cleaned out of the system even more easily than was the case with the previous structure.

4. A-simple-and positively acting device has been provided for causing the motor to be stopped in the event that an excessive supply of oil, which 18 not all being burnt, is being fed to the burner plate, or the float controlled supply deviceitself floods and overflows;

This stoppingofthe motor, Without the presence of an operator being necessary, pre vents possible damage from fire which might occur around the burner if the defective flow of oil were allowed to continue unnoticed, andv alsov notifies the operator when such conditions obtain so that he may make the necessary investigation and adjustments before again attempting to start the motor.

5. Means hasbeen provided forcausing all .extcrior bearings of the motor shaft and other moving parts to be continuously and automatically lubricated as long as the motor is in operation, the same oil'as is used in the burner being employed for this purpose.

, These and other objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangeof the following specification and claim. In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete unitary assemblyof the apparatus.

' Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the burner detached. I

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the float controlled oil supply member shown at approximately the correct level with respect to the burner, as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the burner plate. Fig. 5 is a fraginentary section of the oil regulating valve stem and its driving connections. I

Fig. 6 is a detached view of an automatic characters of reference on the drawings, the

numeral 1 denotes. a vertical and tubular casing in which is turnably and closely fitted a shaft 2. On the lower end of'this shaft is a centrifugal pump runner .3 operating in the usual cylindrical pump. cylinder 3* and adapted totake oil from a passage 4 formed in abottom cap 5 and to discharge it through the usual tangential discharge outlet- 6 of the pump and hence into a passage 7 formed with the casing. This passage leads fro the ment of parts as will fully appear by a perusal spiral to a circumferential groove 8 provided in the shaft 2 a certain distance above the runner, the shaft being longitudinally bored or orificed as at 9 from this point upwardly, the bore communicating with the groove 8 by means of holes 10. A ball-bearing 2*:sur-

rounds the shaft 2 just above the runner 8 and is arranged to support the shaft. A regulating needle valve 11' projects 'in'toa seat 7 formedat'the junction of the-passage 7 with the spiral 6 to control the flow-of oil from the pump to the shaft. This needle valve 7 never actually closes the seata'nd 'proj'ec'tsa'certain distance into the spiral 6, as shown in Fig.2. v

Since the runner 3 is constantly rotating adjacent the seat 7 and setting up a circulation of oil thereabouts, it will be evident that the oil adjacent said seat will never beat rest long enoughto cause settling of sediment in the-seat tochoke up the same, and the projecting valve 11 will be kept-clean. I l he'stem 12 of the valve ll projects outwardly of'th e casing through'a'stuiiing box 13 -foi'a suital'ile distance and connected to a driving means so as to be continuously rotated V as long as the burner is iii'operation, as will be hereinafter seen. This feature aids in maintaiiiing'the passage adjacent the seat 7 clear and unc loggechas will be evident.

Slidably and turnably mounted'on the shaft 2 is the. burner-plate of an independent unit arranged .in driving connection with said shaft, as follows:

A sleeve 14 having a shoulder 15 on its lower end is adaptedto fit 'GllSllYOD the upper end of the shaft. Supported by the shoulder 15 and held against rotation on the sleeve is a spiral gear 16, above which is a spacer 17. This spacer supports the'inner race and balls of a bearing 18, the outer raceof which is perinaneiitly seated in the. upper end of 'an opened top cap 19. fixed on the upper endof the casing 1 by" suitable means. Resting on the inner race of the bearing 18 is a washer 2O above which is a horizontally disposed fan 21 shoulder 15 firmlytogethen concentrically positioned on the sleeve 1%.

Resting on the central portion of the fan and surrounding the sleeve is a spacer 22 on top-of which isseated an oil disposing plate The burnerplate, fan, inner ball race and the various spacers are all secured 'to the sleeve 14 to form a rigid unit by means of a tubular nut 2 1 which screws onto the upper end of the sleeve 14 and fits into the spacer 22 a certain distance, the bore of the latter being enlargedat its upper end to allow this being done; .Thcnut has a shoulder or flange 25 whiclrbea'rs against the plate; thus bindiiig all the parts between this shoulder and the lower This-unit structure. is h ldin driving relation with the shaft-2 by means of a transverse pin 26 in'the nut which is adapted to seat in a 7 verse hole 28 communicatingwith the passage 9, and'di's'cliarges into the space between the.v

transverse groove 27 cut in the upper end of the shaft 2; The shaft2 below the'groove 27 has a transshaft 2- and :the' nut 24 above the termination of the sleeve 1 1. The upper end of this nut has a concave'taper, as at'29, which serves as a entire structure. These parts however are in the main identical with those shown in the iatent'a'bove referred to in which this demountable feature is full Y covered and it is C r K o thereio're unnecessary 111 thepresent case to go further into. the advantages obtained therewith. I V

e The plate 28 is preferably'forined as a main substantially flat portion having an outwardly flarin flange 30 projecting upwardly around the rim, which is preferably higher than the nut 2 1. Openings 81 are provided in suitably spaced relation in'the flat or mean portion of the plate, these openings being made by cutting slits tangentially disposed relative to the az'is of the plate andthenpressing the plate down along'one edge of the'slits and upwardly along the-other end of the slits.

This=causes the air being forced up through i the plate from below by the fan tobe'defie'cted and to have centrifugal 'whirling' motion with an upward butangular flow.

Meshing with the gear 16, wh enthe above "described-unit is in-position on the shaft2, is

another spiral gear '32 positioned at right an gles to said-geai'lti, the goal-'32 beingmounted on a shaft journaled :in ball bearings mounted both in the casing 1' andcap '19. The direction of rotation ofthe driving'gear 32 is toward the driven gear 16, causing theassenibled unit'iiiounted on the shaft 2to have a downwardly moving tendency, thereby holding thedriving pin26 firmly inthe shaft groove 2?, as

shown in the device in the patent. I

Fixed on the shaft 2 below the gear 16 is' an inverted cone-shaped cup 34, having a hole 35 coniii'iunicatingwith'tlie bore 9 of the shaft, so that-with the rotation of the latter a small percenta e of oil in the bore 9is spray and lubricate thegears and bearings iii thrown into ."the cupandfroni there diverted upwardly to cut. 7 The oil. preferably used in tlieburiier is I store oil which is of a quality to enableit to be used as a lubricant aswell as a f'uel.

Surrounding the casing 1, a certain distance below the top thereof and formed integi'al thereu ithis an upwardly sloping dishf 36 provided adjacent its lowest point'with a drainhole 37. A short-nipple 38 -or the like depends from the drain ho e '37 and its-adaptedto fit freely into the upper eiidof a-[drain pipe 39 which leads downwardly therefrom to a 7 device hereinafter described. 7

Surrounding:theplate 23: fl'lllifdll 21 is a vertical casing 4:0 concentric with the shaft and spaced from the outer "periphery of said fit) plate and fan a suitable distance. This casing extends from a'point somewhat above the plate 23 downwardly to a termination substantially on a. level with but inwardly of the upper rim of an inwardly and downwardly tapering oil collecting ring 41. This ring is adapted to discharge into and is supported by the dish 36, the casing 40 being in turn supported on the ring 41 by means of feet 42. The ring 41 also aids in directing'the draft of air to the, fan and burner plate;

' Just below the fan the casing 40 has an inwardly projecting flange 43 which terminates a certain distance inwardly of the outer edges of the fan blades. This arrangement positively prevents a burning mixture above the fan from bacleflaring between the fan and easing, as I found was somewhat the case with the previous device.

By means of this structure the air drawn into the fan with the rotation thereof must pass either between the members 36 and 41 or between the latter and. the casing 40. In either case the air will have a positive upward travel inside thecasing and through the openings in and around the plate 23, thus causing the air'to thoroughly mix with'the oil being thrown from the member 24 with the centrifugal force set up by the rotation of the parts.

This arrangement of parts anddirection of travel of the air keeps the members 36 and 41 cooled down below the igniting'point as before, bringing the cool air from'the bottom of the burner and furnace around, in and over the dish 36 to the center ofthe burner first, then up,through. around and over and entirely surrounding the ring 41, being then distributed to all upper parts of the burner. Thus it will be seen that the lower part of the burner-is kept cool, preventing any ignition of oil below the casing 40, and preventing any oil from dripping or flowing outside the burner into the bottom of the furnace to causetrouble. This is by reason of the air rushing inwardly'between the members and forcing any dripping oil down to the center and into the drain return oil pipe, as herein- 12 at a reduced speed bywork gearing 61" after shown.

This burner structure is supported by means of transversely disposed feet 44 which rest on transverse pads 45 mounted at one end of a rigid base member 46 which projects away from the burner a suitabledistance so that its outer end is clear of the fire box in which the burner is located.

a The shaft 33 is driven by an electric motor 47 supported from the base at its outer end, a suitable rheostat 48 being arranged in connection with the motor to enable thespeed thereof'to be regulated. The shaft 33 has bearing 33 intermediate itsends.

Also mounted on the base adjacent the outer end thereof is an oil supply control, device,

comprising a bowl 49 having a float 50 thereon which automatically controls the seating of a needle valve 51 in the oil intake passage 52, so that the oil in the body may be maintained at a definite level as at A, and at the same time the oil pump 3 will be supplied with the necessary amount of fuel. This form of construction'being common to various carbureters and the like, as will be evident, no further explanation of the working thereof is thought necessary. The oil is preferably fed to the intake 52 in the manner hereinafter seen.

A pipe 53 is connected to the bowl 49 just above the full level line A and leads thereto from a chamber 54 formed in the burner caring 1 below the dish 34, the bottom of said chamber being at a higher level than the line v A in the bowl 49. Thus any oil collecting in the chamber 54 will flow back to the bowl 49 by gravity. 7 v

An outlet pipe 55 leads from the bowl49 near the bottom thereof to .the passage 4 of the take 52. In this manner oil is fed under a pressure to the bowl 49, whether the main supply tank is below or above the levelof the bowl. This type of pump also acts, when not in operation. as an efficient form of valve -;to prevent any flow of oil' through the pipes 55 and 56 in either direction. In this man- 1 i.

ner if the main tank is above the bowl the latter is prevented from flooding, if the needle valve leaks, and conversely if the tank is lowthe needle valve is defective.

The shaft 58 of the oil pump 56 is driven from the motor shaft by suitable reduction er than the bowl the latter cannot drain if worm gearing 59 preferably enclosed in a casing 60. The shaft'58 drives the valve stem also enclosed in a casing 62. Thus the valve 11 continuously rotates inthe seat 'Wall the time the motor is running and the burner is in operation. f

This valve is adjusted by moving tliestem 12in or out by astraight longitudinal move- ISO in the opposite direction er=towardsits seat;

Such adjustment, however, will not have to be made very otten,-since ordinarily the .in-

tensity of the burner lire is controlled by the speed of the motor, and as before stated, the valve 11 is never intended to be entirely closed. r

In order to provide -lorce feed-lubrication for all worm gears and shaft bearings, a branch pipe leads tronrtheoutlet pipe 56 of the oil pump 56, from which ln'anchpipe leads 66 connect to the various parts to be lubricated, as shown more or lessdiagrammaticall-y in Fig. 1. Return leadsli? from said lubricated iparts connectwith the oil return pipe 53 from the burner. In this mannerall'wearing parts are constantly lubricatedby the same oil used for the burner, while any oil not consumed in thusatfording lubrication is returned 'to the-bowl d9, since its combustible qualities are not harmed by passing around different bearings.

Automatic shutlown: of the motor, should the valve of the bowl become 'clog-ged and-the bowlflood, or-it oil should be eueessively discharged into the dish 86 otthe burner, is provided for by the-folldwing structure:

. A small open topped tanlz 68 is positioned adjacent the base at any suitable pointoutside the furnace and has a bail'69-removably hung on m ieendjolfv a horizontal lever :70. This lever is fulcrumed on abr a'clret '1" lwhich is mountedon the base- L6. -A weight 7 2 on the lever counteracts the weightot the tank 68 when the latter is empty,'*this-c'ounteracting; weight, after a small amount of oil has flowed into the tank. r-being'added by the.

weightoii a float 73 -in the tank and held clear of the bottom'thereof, as will be hereinafter seen, This bracket is o1": such a-height that the tank is freely suspended clear ot' the base.

' The drain pipe 39 from the burner dish 36 is arranged to discharge into the tank 68 1 butdoes not touch the same. 'lhiswpipe is supported 'in a removable manner byimeans of a radial pin '74 depending therefrom-intermediate its ends. This pin is loosely socketed in. a pedestal 75 mounted on the base. This pin is so positioned relative to thelength as whole that the weight of that portion-of the pipe from said pin toward thetank 68' is greater than the portion extending toward the nipple 38, so thatthe'up-turned end ol the pipe 39 over said nipple presses upwardly against the dish j fipreventing the lowering of the other endot the pipe39 beyond a-predetermined point. By means ofthis-arrange' of this switch is connected by are ill- .ranged in connection with the weight 72,

these contacts being normally spaced I rom but adapted to alternatelyengagecontacts 78 fixed on'thebracket .71. In. the main circuit leads 79 to the motor 47 is interposed .a normally closed switch 80 preferably of the thermostat type. .The heating element 81 a lead 82*to the corresponding lead 79ahead ot' the switch, and has a connection with the. contacts'ZT through the bracket'Zl and levenTO. zThe contacts 7 8 are-connected in common to the otherleadto the motor byimeansot a lead 83.

The stem 73 of the .fioat 7 3 hasia yokefi l straddlingthe lever =70 on the opposite side of the fulcrum thereof l'romthe bail .69. This yoke has a crosspin 85 below lthelever adapted to engage.the samebnly ai'terthe fioat=has risen a cert-aindistance. .Asimilar -p in 86 is mounted in theyokeabove the lever and is normally just clear of the same. The

float is-normally supported clear o't.the tank and the pin86 clear otthe .lever byineansof adjustable nuts 87 on theffioatist-em, which nuts rest-onian extension'll of the'braoket, said extension alsov forming a .gu de .l'or the stem.

The nuts are preferablyadjusted so that the pin 86 isjust barelyclear ofthe lever when the tank is empty; Therefore, while the' weight 72 'alone counterbalances vthev weight of the empty tanlns as :soon as any oil flows into the latter and the-lever adjacent the pin '86 starts .to .r-ise,-said .pin .;will take hold and the weightol thewfioat will then .aid in counteractingthe weigl'it oi the!tank.

In this manner, a larger. amount-of oilmay flow into-the tank-before theuppercontacts 7'? and 7 8 engage each other as will above-vident. After a'certain'ainount of ilhas-entered the tank, however, eithen throughthe pipe =39 or t-hrough the :pipe 76, the counter:

balancing effect of the weight 72; andthat of the tloat'will be overcome. Zl hiszwill cause the'tankto lower and the thern'iostat switch heater circuit to be closed at the 3 uppei eone'tacts 77 and 78. wThe-heatereelement 8150f said switch will therefore bewheated, causing-the'switcn 80 to be operied andithe n otor is disconnected from the le'ver 70-i o1-eleaning, the removal of its weight from the, lever causes lthe vwveight 72 to be I lowered, so-th-at the lower contacts Wand 78 becoine en This of course causes 'the stoppage circuit consequently broken. l/Vhenthe-tanlr I lar purpose.

burner operated until the tank is replaced in position on the lever in an empty condition.

Should any person attempt to frustrate the functioning of the device by blocking up the tank 68 so that it will not lower when oil drains therein, the rising float with the accumulation of oil in the tank will cause the lever to tilt and the upper contacts 77 and 78 to be engaged just the same as if the tank itself were lowered and caused this movement of the lever to take place. This is because after the float has risen a certain distance the pin 85 bears against the lever 70 causing the latter to move without any movement of the tank itself. WVhen the lever thus moves, while the tank is stationary, the end of said lever adjacent the tank drops away from the bail 69, but since this bail is not permanently afiixed t0 the lever no strain is placed on the lever or bail.

I am aware that overflow tanks, operating knife-switches, have been used for a simi- As far as I am aware however, they only operate in one direction, that is when the tank is lowered with a weight of oil therein. As soon as these tanks are removed, the circuit is restored to unbrokencondition.

This is contrary to my arrangement, with which breaking of the motor circuit is had when the tank is full, when it is removed,

and if the tank should be blocked up and prevented from downward movement. This construction meets the requirements of the lire underwriters, in ;)roviding a device which automatically operates under any and all conditions.

Further, the particular form of motor-circuit control switch enables the switch control circuit to be of low voltage, which allows abutting and sensitive contacts to be used in stead of the knife switch which requires more power.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice, such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from thespirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

An oil pump and valve combination for use in pumping heavy hydrocarbon oils, comprising a pump structure having a discharge outlet, said outlet diverging outwardly from the pump, alongitudinally adjustable needle valve pointing toward the pump and constantly disposed in said diverging outlet to form a restricted passage of adjustable crosssectional area therewith, and means for con stantly rotating the valve.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature.

IRA EDWARD SMITH. 

